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Current Events
- Elections... If you or people in your area or HOA want to meet and discuss current/future topics related to the city, reach out to me to set up a time to visit. (email, phone call, or in person)
- The new water treatment facility is UP AND RUNNING! If you're on the north central water system you should no longer see discolored, sulfur smelling water. Though... for those of you not using a water softener, you'll still want to look into getting one.
- Many of you are familiar with the phrase "rural look and feel" or "rural character." Dayton residents have said this is important to them and I agree. It's even in our mission statement. We've had a couple work sessions on the topic and I believe it'll result in a list of ideas we will be prioritizing for the future. If you have ideas, please let me know.
Item 7A (Delinquent Utility Bills)
Towards the end of every year, unpaid water bills get put on resident’s next year’s property taxes. It always strikes council members as odd since there’s a 15% penalty, but the fact that it is moved to property taxes means it has to get paid (with or without the penalty). I would prefer water bills get paid before this happens... but this is currently the result of unpaid bills. This item was approved 4-0.
Item 8A (Payment of Claims)
This is where the council approves paying the bills. Very rarely do we find an issue, but it’s good to see where the money’s going. It was approved 4-0.
Item 8B (Personnel Policy Update)
The only changes here were clarifications about weapons on city property and vehicles with a permit. It was approved 4-0.
Item 8C (Appointment of Council Member)
I’ve learned over the years hiring engineers that an application and/or interview process tells you very little. I have seen people perform spectacularly during both, and within months after hiring, it’s clear they’re not suitable and are terminated. This is a big reason we typically hire interns. We have that history and know how that employee will perform in that specific environment. In this case, history is invaluable, because we don’t have the ability to terminate a council member after their appointment. That’s why, in my opinion, serving on commissions is an extremely important step prior to running for council.
We have 2 candidates with that history; Keith and Shawn. I voted to put Keith on the Planning Commission for many reasons, including the ability to throw curveballs at meetings and keep the remainder of the commission from getting stuck in a box. Shawn is on the EDA and also willing to question the direction the commission is going.
Shawn, however, took things a step further last election and ran for council. He came in 3rd after Council Member Van Asten. This is important, because the residents are supposed to vote in their council members to represent their voices. It would be a disservice to our residents to randomly put another individual in that position.
There are of course issues I disagree on with both candidates, but that is how we get a well rounded council representing the whole community vs. one sided positions on topics.
With all of that said, my vote was for Shawn. One other member supported Shawn. One supported Keith, and the 4th member supported one of the other applicants. A motion was made to appoint Shawn, which I seconded, and it was approved 3-1.
Item 8D (Parks RFP)
This was to award a bid to do the Park Facilities Needs Analysis that we approved a couple months ago. The analysis will cost $33k and was awarded to HKGI. The details of what they will look at is in the packet. It was approved 4-0.
Item 8E (IUP Home Extended Business)
This was to approve an application to add accessory structures to an Ag property that has a storage business. An IUP (Interim Use Permit) allows the council to have some give and take with zoning and requires a time limit on the permit. Since it’s in the middle of farmland, there wasn’t any objection to the permit other than some disagreement with the time limit. The request from the property owner was 20 years. We settled on 15 years. It passed 4-0.
Item 8F (Dayton Auto Care)
The property owner wants to create a minor motor vehicle repair business. The area is currently used for industrial use which allows this type of business. It was approved 4-0.
Item 8G (Vineyard Meadow Development Agreement)
This item was tabled 4-0.
Item 8H (Sundance Greens Development Agreement)
This item was tabled 4-0.
Item 8I (Utility Rates Review)
This was an explanation on the rate increases. The water rate will go up 4% and the sewer up 2%. It was approved 4-0.
Item 8J (Forgent New Facility)
This property sits across the Dayton Parkway from the Cubes facility (half of which is leased by Forgent). It will be a 352,000 sq. ft warehouse and manufacturing facility for 300 employees. For the most part this was straight forward. The only sticky points had to do with a setback variance and an obstruction permit. The setback (distance from building to property edge) issue was on the south side. The requirement is 57 feet, but the request was to allow 45 feet. That setback is to the roadway, which they donated as part of the development. After some discussion all 4 of us agreed to it.
The obstruction permit would allow the owner to block the Dayton Parkway at the entrance to the facility twice a day for up to 90 seconds per direction. They would also install a traffic light at that location. The need for this is to move one of their products (electrical equipment housing) from one facility to another to complete the manufacturing process. The permit would specify the window of time they’re allowed to do it, which would be the lowest traffic time. It would also specify the longevity of the permit (when the city could revoke the permit).
At most, only one lane will be blocked at a time. Though most emergency vehicles are not likely to come through here, they can still drive around the obstruction, and the operator can always reverse the transit if they haven’t reached halfway across one lane; both of which shorten the time significantly.
Since we have an election coming up, a few people are pouncing on this issue as a way to help their personal preference on candidates.
This item was approved 4-0.
Item 8K (Additional Part-Time Firefighters)
This was a request by the fire chief to hire 2 more part-time fire fighters to use during our duty crew hours. The duty crew consists of employees actually in the fire station. The issue all 4 members of the council had was that this item came up at a previous meeting and it was rejected because all of us wanted to see a report on the results of the duty crew so far. We still had no report, so there was immediate frustration and no support at this time. However, staff then pointed out that these 2 were replacements only when needed to fill in a shift for someone on leave or out of the office; there will be no budget impact. With that, it was approved 4-0.
As always contact me with questions / concerns.